Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Russia's UK ambassador rejects coronavirus vaccine hacking allegations

Russia's UK ambassador rejects coronavirus vaccine hacking allegations

Russia's ambassador to the UK has rejected allegations that his country's intelligence services tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research.

"I don't believe in this story at all, there is no sense in it," Andrei Kelin told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

On Thursday, UK security services said hackers targeting vaccine developers "almost certainly" operated as "part of Russian intelligence services".

Mr Kelin also rejected suggestions that Russia had interfered in UK politics.

Earlier this week, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Russians almost certainly sought to interfere in the 2019 UK election through illicitly-acquired documents.

The papers, which emerged online, detailed UK-US trade discussions and were used by Labour in its election campaign.

"I do not see any point in using this subject as a matter of interference," Mr Kelin said.

"We do not interfere at all. We do not see any point in interference because for us, whether it will be [the] Conservative Party or Labour's party at the head of this country, we will try to settle relations and to establish better relations than now."

The interview comes days before a report into allegations of wider Russian interference into UK democracy is due to be published by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee.

On Thursday, UK, US and Canada security services said a hacking group called APT29 had targeted various organisations involved in Covid-19 vaccine development, with the likely intention of stealing information.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it was more than 95% certain that the group, also known as The Dukes or Cozy Bear, was part of Russian intelligence services.

Asked whether that was true, Mr Kelin did not directly answer, but said: "I learned about their existence from British media."

"In this world, to attribute any kind of computer hackers to any country, it is impossible," he said.

Mr Kelin went on to dismiss a suggestion that it would be an "advantage" for Russia to know about vaccines in development. He said Russian pharmaceutical company R-Pharm had already entered a partnership with AstraZeneca to manufacture the coronavirus vaccine being developed at the University of Oxford, should it prove effective.

Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Kelin said Russian officials studying the country's recent constitutional referendum discovered "several cyber-attacks" originating from UK territory.

Two weeks ago, Russia voted in favour of a wide-ranging set of constitutional changes, which included clauses banning same-sex marriage and making it possible for President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036.

Mr Kelin stressed that Russia was not "accusing the United Kingdom as a state" of being involved in the cyber-attacks and did not give further details as to their nature.


'Some spy story'


Andrew Marr also asked Mr Kelin whether he had seen the recent BBC miniseries, The Salisbury Poisonings, which dramatised the poisoning of former spy and MI6 informant Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

"I saw part of them," he said, adding that it was "so dull" he could not watch the three-part series to the end.

The UK has accused two Russian military intelligence officers of being behind the poisonings but the ambassador indicated Moscow was keen to move on from the incident, saying: "We still do not understand why some spy story should disrupt these important business relations which will be very helpful to Britain... when it is exiting from the European Union.

"We are prepared to turn the page and we are prepared to do business with Britain."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×